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Having previously reigned supreme as the world’s top student city for four consecutive years at the top of the QS Best Student Cities ranking, the French capital has fallen three places this year to now rank fifth in the QS Best Student Cities ranking.

Paris’ consistently strong placing in the ranking is largely due to its high concentration of internationally ranked universities. Home to 18 universities featured in the QS World University Rankings® (either overall or in specific indicators), it comfortably lays claim to more world-leading institutions than almost any city on the planet – with the exceptions of Seoul (also 18) and London (17). As a result, it’s ranked second for the rankings indicator in this year’s Best Student Cities ranking, one place behind London.

While Paris does have a (justified) reputation for its high cost of living, this is to a large extent balanced out by low tuition fees – though of course enjoying all the delights of life in this iconic European capital will certainly stretch your student budget, especially if you’re into haute couture and haute cuisine.…

Elite Parisian universities and specialized schools such as ENS Paris, Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech, Sciences Po Paris, Université Paris-Sorbonne (ParisIV) and HEC Paris have produced some of the most important philosophers, theorists, scientists, politicians, business leaders and mathematicians of the last 100 years, along with seminal movements in literature, film and art. Today, Parisian graduates are targeted by a vast range of employers across the continent, as is reflected in the city’s strong score for employer activity in the ranking.

Though its no longer in the top three, the City of Love still has a place in the hearts of prospective students across from the world, with one student, commenting in our student survey, saying that they loved “being surrounded by such beautiful monuments, history and culture” in Paris, while another said: “the nightlife is incredible”.

Will it climb back towards the number one spot next year? Have your say.